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ABSTRACT: Various automated chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) analyzers for the detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) are now commercially available in clinical laboratories and are replacing conventional enzyme immunoassays. We investigated the performance of four anti-HCV CLIAs (the Architect Anti-HCV assay on the Architect i2000 system, the Vitros Anti-HCV assay on the Vitros ECiQ Immunodiagnostic System, the Access HCV Ab PLUS assay on the UniCel DxI 800 analyzer, and the newly developed Elecsys Anti-HCV assay on the Cobas e 411 analyzer). The total percent coefficient of variation values of imprecision were 3.5 to 5.7% with positive control materials and 7.2 to 10.2% with negative control materials. The agreement between the results of the Elecsys, Architect, Vitros, and Access CLIAs ranged from 94.5 to 98.1%. The clinical sensitivity of all CLIAs was 100%. Each CLIA showed excellent reproducibility and clinical sensitivity. The Elecsys, Architect, Vitros, and Access CLIAs showed clinical specificities of 98.2, 98.8, 96.5, and 98.2%.
Journal of clinical microbiology 11/2008; 46(12):3919-23. · 4.16 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Among imipenem-nonsusceptible isolates, acquired metallo-beta-lactamase genes were detected in 36 of 581 (6.2%) Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, 42 of 44 (95.4%) other Pseudomonas species, and 136 of 513 (26.5%) Acinetobacter species from 2003 to 2004 at a Korean hospital. Overall, bla(VIM-2)-like genes were the most prevalent and were also detected in Enterobacteriaceae, including Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 06/2006; 50(5):1884-6. · 4.84 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The urea breath test (UBT) is regarded as a highly reliable, noninvasive tool for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection. We compared a recently developed low-dose 38 mg (13)C-urea capsule, which is able to eliminate oral urease effects and does not require positional changes during the test, with the conventionally used 100 mg (13)C-urea tablet method.
Thirty-nine volunteers were tested under informed consent with both (13)C-UBT methods, Helifinder(R) and UBiT-IR300(R), with a minimum 2-week washout period. The pre-ingestion and 20-minute post-ingestion breath samples were analyzed with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer for Helifinder, and a nondispersive isotope-selective infrared spectrophotometer for UBiT samples.
Helifinder method showed excellent agreement with UBiT among 19 positive and 20 negative cases (weighted kappa value, 1.0). Helifinder results (y) showed good agreement but with a proportional bias compared to UBiT results (x) by Passing and Bablok method (y=0.551x-0.255, r=0.74, P<0.0001).
Since the low-dose 38 mg (13)C-urea capsule (Helifinder) test, which is more convenient and economic, showed comparable results with the conventional UBiT method, it can be used as an alternative for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection.
The Korean Journal of Laboratory Medicine 05/2006; 26(2):81-5. · 0.63 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A 40-year-old man who had been treated for multiple myeloma, complained of decreased visual acuity of the left eye on the 30th day of admission. The nucleotide sequences of a fungal PCR product from vitreous fluid showed 99% homology with Aspergillus fumigatus (AY373851). Aspergillus spp. was isolated from vitreous fluid culture, also. Rapid diagnosis and intervention are critical elements for the Aspergillus endophthalmitis; therefore, it would be helpful to combine the fungal PCR with conventional fungus culture for clinically indicated specimens.
The Korean Journal of Laboratory Medicine 03/2006; 26(1):36-8. · 0.63 Impact Factor
